


Greyhound Bus

by consumptive_sphinx



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Gen, Modern AU, Reincarnation AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-01 04:10:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5191637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/consumptive_sphinx/pseuds/consumptive_sphinx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There will not be any more of this fic. Stop asking. I'm serious about this.</p></blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DesertStorm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertStorm/gifts).



The next time Aaron sees him, Alexander is a teenager on a Greyhound bus to New York City.

 

Aaron’s a teenager too, eighteen to Alexander’s nineteen (if he remembers correctly, that is). He got a bus ticket from Newark because he may have the body of a New Jersey nineties kid, but he has the mind of a 1700’s New York senator and he wants to see his state again. He hadn’t expected to see Alexander Hamilton again, though he probably should have. They do keep meeting.

 

Aaron sits down next to Alexander, about a third of the way from the back. “Hello,” he whispers, not wanting to disturb the people around them. The glow from Alexander’s computer screen is more than enough to see by (and of course he writes twenty-page essays on the bus), but it is still the middle of the night.

 

“Hello. Alex Hamilton.” Alexander doesn’t even glance up at him, just keeps furiously typing. There’s no way he remembers; a nineteen-year-old Alexander Hamilton who remembered would have punched him.

 

He smiles at the back of Alexander’s neck, though he knows that he won’t see. “Aaron Burr. What are you writing?”

 

Alexander doesn’t pause at all, just launches into an explanation of quantum physics and causality models. Aaron listens intently, partly because the subject is fascinating and partly because it’s  Alexander. In another lifetime, he would have stopped Alexander at “So the past can’t set the future in stone because the  past itself isn’t set in stone,” would have told him to  talk less, smile more -

 

\- but here, but now, Aaron simply listens.

 

It’s good to see him again.


	2. Chapter 2

They're at Aaron's house when it happens. 

James isn't sure what caused it, but it comes suddenly, a jerk through all of Aaron's muscles that leaves him blank-eyed and twitching on the floor. "Aaron!" He'll admit it, he's scared; James knows his own seizures inside and out but hasn't ever needed to help with someone else's. 

By the time James has gotten to his knees next to Aaron and turned his friend onto his side so he won't choke, the spasms have been replaced by trembling hands and frantic eyes. James stays with him, whispers soothing nonsense and watches the second hand of the clock on the wall. It takes slightly more than one hundred seconds before the shaking stops and Aaron calms: not good, obviously, but a 911 call won't be necessary. 

It takes a moment for Aaron's eyes to focus, but they do. "Maddy?" James nods. "What's the date?"

Oh. This. It's fairly common to be confused after a seizure, but that doesn't make it easy to deal with. "It's November 30th," he says, and adds "2015." because it can't hurt. 

Aaron nods slowly and doesn't ask any more questions. He leans against James, closes his eyes and relaxes. James can't tell whether he's asleep, but doesn't ask. 

Best to leave him be. 

 

It hurts. 

Aaron doesn't know what's happening — only that eighty years' worth of memories are trying to cram themselves into his skull at once, and it feels like his head is going to explode. He's fourteen, eighty, ninety-four, two hundred-something, who the fuck even knows, a politician, a student, a revolutionary, still a teenager, who the fuck even knows —

— everything goes clear again. 

He's lying on the floor next to (James Madison, US president, wrote the constitution and some of the Federalist Papers, Democratic Republican / Maddy, his best friend, moved here from Virginia two years ago, social anxiety and epilepsy, shy and quiet) Maddy, he decides. "Maddy? What's the date?"

"November 30th. 2015." 

Okay. Okay. The memories are memories. He's back in the present again. It's okay. 

His head still hurts.


	3. Chapter 3

At first, it almost feels normal.

Seizures are hardly unfamiliar territory for James; he's been dealing with this since he was five. That's how he knows that no, it isn't supposed to hurt this much — and that scares him more than the actual seizure does. Medically, deviations from the norm aren't usually a good thing.

He doesn't typically hallucinate either, but that has to be what's happening. These can't be memories. They can't be. He's definitely never been a United States president, and the Constitution has been around for hundreds of years; he couldn't have written it. There is no way that this is anything but an epilepsy-induced hallucination, albeit one of a scale that James hasn't ever heard of and will make sure to Google when he gets home —

his vision goes fuzzy and then black _(oh good that's more normal)_ and he can feel himself f a l l i n g

 

When his vision clears, James is leaning against Aaron's chest, and Thomas is panicking in the background.

Again, that's fairly normal. Most people do panic. Aaron didn't, but Aaron is Aaron and therefore doesn't count.

"Oh, good, he's blinking again. Thomas, can you go get some water? He'll probably need it." Aaron sounds utterly calm. He usually does. You can always count on him to stay levelheaded.

Thomas's door clicks closed and footsteps fall down the stairs. James closes his eyes and leans closer into Aaron.

God. He's tired. After one of his episodes he always is, but not usually this tired. The hallucinations aren't going away. All James wants to do is curl up with Aaron and sleep for a week. Not that it'll happen.

Thomas gets back with two glasses of water. "Maddy, are you okay?"

James shakes his head, then winces. "Head hurts," he whispers, voice scratchy. "Did I hit it on something?"

"No." Aaron sounds worried too now. "Do you know what might've caused that?"

James shakes his head again. He doesn't. There weren't any flashing lights, none of his usual triggers.

Aaron pauses, goes tense for a moment. Then he takes a deep breath through his teeth and relaxes, systematically like he's forcing himself not to be frightened. "Okay, we'll figure it out later. Maddy, I know you're tired, but can you try and drink some water for me?"

James nods, leans forward to accept one of the glasses from Thomas. He chugs the whole thing, and then curls back into Aaron. "Thank you. Can I sleep now?"

"Mm-hmm." James closes his eyes and quietly falls asleep.

 

"What was that?" Thomas sounds less panicked now and more concerned.

 _Seriously? He can't figure it out?_ "Maddy has epilepsy," Aaron says patiently. _He's fifteen, remember, not ninety-five. He seems immature because he is._ "That's what a seizure looks like."

Thomas, to his credit, doesn't say anything about seizures in movies. Instead he just nods.

Maddy's okay. It could have gone much worse.

So why is Aaron's stomach churning like something is about to go horribly wrong?

 

It takes almost a week for Aaron to realize what happened.

Maddy doesn't mention it to anyone, tries to keep his behavior the same. But he can't be perfect: whenever he looks over at Aaron or Thomas his eyes unfocus, just for a second; his speech patterns sound just a bit more antiquated; he seems constantly distracted.

It takes about a week for Maddy to crack.

"Aaron?" he whispers in math class. "I've been hallucinating since the seizure last week." Maddy looks — beyond scared. "I'm not telling anyone else, which is probably a really bad decision, but I wanted you to know —"

"I have them too."

For once in his life Aaron speaks without thinking, and Maddy stops cold.

"We should compare notes," Maddy says after a moment. "See if they're compatible. If they're not then we're both going insane, but if they are then we could be onto something."

And why didn't Aaron think of that? "That's brilliant," he whispers, because it is.

And just like that, they're conspirators again.


	4. Chapter 4

The _first_ first time Aaron Burr meets Thomas Jefferson, it's rather offhanded. Aaron has just become a Senator; Thomas is already an established political figure. They are not close and never will be, except perhaps via their mutual friendship with James Madison. 

The _second_ first time Aaron Burr meets Thomas Jefferson, Aaron is the only one involved who remembers. They're a pair of kids, sitting next to each other in a chemistry class that doesn't have Maddy in it and so neither of them have anyone else to talk to — so Aaron turns to Thomas and says, "Thomas Jefferson, right?"

Thomas smiles, nods. "Yeah. I moved up from Virginia a few months ago." The Southern twang to his accent is already fading, though he hasn't adopted Jersey mannerisms. (It's always a fight for Aaron not to use "youse" instead of the plural you.) 

Aaron doesn't want to like him. The son of a bitch put him on trial for treason, and he was racist even by 18th century standards. 

But he does. Thomas is fourteen and awkward and besides, Maddy always did like him, and Aaron's been trusting Maddy's judgement for years now. 

"Aaron Burr," he says, and he's smiling. 

 

It turns out to be a good decision, in the end. 

Maddy likes Thomas, again, and Aaron can't quite regret anything that makes Maddy this happy (he and James weren't this close the first time around, but Aaron hasn't let the first time change his behavior since the week he remembered). Thomas doesn't change their group dynamics for the worse, and sometimes he changes them for the better — three way arguments are easier to resolve, not harder, as it turns out. 

Aaron honestly didn't want to like Thomas Jefferson. 

But after around a year and a half, he finds that he does.


	5. Chapter 5

Aaron isn't around when Alexander remembers, but he finds out shortly afterwards. 

This is because Alexander has a temper, and also Aaron's phone number. 

_"Why did you shoot me?!"_ Alexander is yelling into the phone. Aaron has to hold it away from his ear. 

"You were there, you remember," he says once he's sure that Alexander is done yelling, not bothering to try and deny it. If Alexander remembers, there's not a lot that Aaron can do about it except prepare. "Also, please don't punch Thomas, he doesn't remember yet and I don't want to have to deal with that."

There's a silence before Alexander says anything more; Aaron holds the phone away from his ear again. 

It turns out to be unnecessary; Alexander is incredulous when he says "You're friends with _Jefferson?"_ but he isn't loud. 

"Yes," and Aaron manages to sound perfectly reasonable.

_"Why?"_

He could roll his eyes, but he's fairly certain that Alexander would be able to hear him. "Because Maddy likes him. Because when we met he was a confused kid like you were. Because he's funny and smart. Take your pick."

There's another long pause. "And you trust Madison's opinion." Alexander sounds entirely too incredulous for someone who trusted Maria Reynolds.

"Yes. I _like_ Maddy. At the moment I like him better than I like you."

Aaron has been trying to justify himself to Alexander for a lifetime and a half. He's done. 

Alexander, for once, seems to take the hint, because he doesn't demand to know _how could you do this_ again. Just mumbles something inane about having to get back to John, the beetles are awake (at least, that's what it sounds like to Aaron) and hangs up. 

Oh, lord. Alexander _remembers._

Aaron feels like his life is about to get a lot more complicated in very little time. 

(He's completely right. How could he not be?)


	6. Chapter 6

Angelica remembers first, when she's nine and Eliza is seven and Peggy is three. 

Her parents are so worried — when she comes to she's in the hospital; her father called 911 the moment the seizure started — and Eliza stays right by her side for weeks afterward. 

She doesn't tell anyone about the memories, except for Eliza, the first privacy they get. Angelica tells her little sisters everything (that is, she tells Eliza everythig, and she resolves to start telling Peggy everything when she isn't three anymore and can really understand what secrets between sisters mean).

Eliza nods and listens with wide eyes and takes her very seriously, because Eliza takes everything that Angelica says seriously. But Angelica can tell that Eliza doesn't really believe her. 

She doesn't mention it again. 

xxx

Peggy remembers next, when she's eight and Eliza is twelve and Angelica is fourteen. 

They're home alone and Eliza is getting lifeguard training, so when Peggy reaches awareness again she's on her side on the kitchen floor with her sisters on either side of her. 

"Mags," Eliza says, and the calm in her voice cuts through the memories that feel like Peggy's but don't (escaping on a bed sheet rope sounds awesome but she can't imagine herself doing that) so her eyes can clear. "Mags, I need you to breathe, okay?"

And Peggy lets out a breath she doesn't realize she was holding, nods, and sits up. 

She never particularly discusses the memories with either of her sisters, but it's clear from the times they come up in conversation that Angelica has them and Eliza doesn't. 

It's not a secret. From her big sisters, Peggy has no secrets. But she doesn't mention them to Eliza anymore. 

xxx

Eliza doesn't remember for three more years, when she's fifteen and Angelica is seventeen and Peggy is eleven. 

It's in the middle of the night. When she wakes up that morning, she's fallen off her bed, as everything hurts, and she _remembers._

After school that day she tells Angelica everything, breaks down sobbing at parts. 

Angelica takes her by the hands and says softly that she isn't going insane, Peggy and Angelica remember too, and they've all been given another chance. 

Eliza listens carefully and takes her very seriously and believes her. 

Eliza has learned many things in the last eight years, but mostly she's learned to believe Angelica, always.


	7. Chapter 7

There is nobody around. 

When the pain hits (overwhelming, he writhes at first but then the muscle spasms take over and he just relaxes as best he can and lets the pain wash over him) there is nobody who hears Thomas crying. 

For one desperate moment he wishes he were in the dorms rather than an off-campus apartment. He'd have a roommate then, he'd have someone — but then his skull feels like it's being carved into pieces with a chisel and he can't think about anything. 

The memories hit then, images of places he's never been and people he's never met and things he's never done, and he doesn't know what's going on or what these are —

 _— Maddy would probably know,_ Thomas thinks, before the world fades into grey. 

xxx

When he wakes up, he's still alone. 

Everything hurts. His throat feels like he's been breathing in thumbtacks. He gets to his feet and gets a glass of water, shaking a little but mostly okay. 

The memories return in full force, images of him _(a girl who he owns, younger than he is now, and he swallows down the need to vomit)_. He glances down at his hands, just to check that they're still dark-skinned; they are, but in a way that just makes him feel worse. 

What the _fuck_ just happened?

Everybody learns about Thomas Jefferson in school, but Thomas had ways thought his name was either a not-very-funny joke on his parents' part or a weird coincidence. He might have imagined a lot of reasons, if he'd decided to, but he would not have come up with this, whatever the hell _this_ even is. 

He's too tired for this. Any of this. 

Thomas resolves to ask Aaron when he sees him the next day. 

xxx

He does not ask Aaron, because Aaron and Maddy are laughing and cheerful and blissfully normal and Thomas wants a lot of things but he doesn't want to break that. 

He's never been good at people. Aaron is. Aaron can watch a conversation and then give a detailed analysis of the personal backgrounds and mental states of everyone participating. Aaron would know what to say. Thomas… doesn't. So he stays quiet and eats his lunch and smiles at the right places so they don't worry and listens to his friends being happy. 

Which would work just fine, except that Aaron _is_ good at people, and can read Thomas like he's a blaring neon sign. "Are you okay?"

The concern in his voice is genuine. Thomas thinks of himself putting Aaron on trial for treason, and wants to throw up again. "No." He doesn't even try lying; Aaron would see right through it. "My head still hurts from yesterday." It usually does, at least a little, but this is different. "Um, do either of you guys know what might cause … seeing things?"

Thomas doesn't want to call them memories, even though that's clearly what they are. Better to have them think he's hurt than think he's going insane. 

Maddy and Aaron glance at one another, an entire conversation that Thomas can't hear seeming to pass between them. He hates it when they do that — just another reminder that they were already friends before they ever met Thomas, and he's spent five years intruding where he isn't wanted. 

"Is this like seeing stuff that isn't there, or like remembering stuff that you couldn't possibly have seen?" Maddy finally asks. 

Thomas doesn't know what either answer would mean, so he tells the truth. "Remembering."

Aaron and Maddy look at each other again. 

"Let me guess, you're remembering a life as Thomas Jefferson the historical figure." Aaron sounds completely certain. He shouldn't be. He shouldn't have guessed that fast. No logical chain could have led him to that conclusion that quickly with those priors.

(That's true of Aaron with a lot of things. Maddy and Thomas eventually came to the conclusion that he just had priors that they didn't.) 

They're going to think Thomas is crazy. Thomas kind of thinks Thomas is crazy. 

He nods. 

"We've got them too," Maddy says. "And we're pretty sure the names aren't a coincidence either."

…Thomas isn't sure if that's better or worse. He isn't going insane, but all the things he remembers doing (the girl's face — Sally's face — flashes through his mind) he actually did. 

But he takes the answer, for now.

**Author's Note:**

> There will not be any more of this fic. Stop asking. I'm serious about this.


End file.
